The present invention relates to systems for vacuuming, blow nozzle cleaning, or extracting fumes from mass transit vehicles, and more particularly to any such system which employs festooned hoses.
Commonly, public transit systems, having a large number of passenger buses, employ vacuuming, blow nozzle cleaning stations, or fume extracting systems for such buses which comprise one or more lanes or service bays into which the bus is driven, adjacent to vacuuming, fume extracting, or cleaning equipment. The vacuuming, fume extracting, or cleaning equipment typically comprises a motorized or pneumatically driven vacuum pump or blower, additional vacuum pump (if needed), material collection system, and dumpster container, from which one or more lengthy hoses extend. At the distal end of each hose, which may be one or more inches in diameter, is provided a lance and nozzle. As is well known in the art of vacuuming, blow nozzle cleaning, or fume extraction systems, the hose functions to communicate the vacuum or blow nozzle air flow generated by the motorized vacuum pump or blower to the nozzle. Dirt, paper, or fumes are either picked up or blown away, as the case may be, by the nozzle, when being removed from the area being vacuumed or cleaned. Vacuumed material moves through the hose, ducting, and appropriate collector, and are deposited into a dumpster container to be emptied later, when full. Fume extraction systems do not require a collection system and dumpster container, but are usually exhausted to atmosphere directly. In prior art vacuuming, blow nozzle cleaning, and fume exhaust stations for vacuuming, cleaning or extracting fumes from mass transit buses and the like, an operator enters the bus for cleaning or goes to the bus engine exhaust pipe for fume extraction, which is parked in the cleaning station or service bay, carrying the lance end of the vacuum equipment for the purpose of vacuuming, cleaning, or extracting fumes from the bus.
A problem in such prior art vacuuming, blow nozzle cleaning, and exhaust extraction stations, is that the hose, because of its length, can be extremely unwieldy, making the vacuuming, cleaning, or fume extraction function difficult. Such hoses are most often deployed on hose reels, or manual counterbalance festoons. Hose reels include a large mounting structure system and a strong retraction mechanism to ensure that the hoses remain coiled about the reel, typically suspended from an adjacent wall or ceiling, except when extended for use. The pull forces exerted by the retraction mechanism makes hose manipulation by an operator difficult, can be a safety problem, because of the employment of large and powerful moving parts, and can also cause hose damage over time. As a practical matter, because of the retraction mechanism, hose reels typically require a remote control system at the distal (lance) end, so that the operator can alleviate the pulling force of the retraction mechanism when hose extension and manipulation are required. Such systems, however, are expensive and unreliable. Existing hose reel systems often fail or are more costly because of vacuum system plugging, are aesthetically displeasing, and are expensive to install or relocate. Manual counterbalance festoons utilize a counterweight that pulls the hose back to the fully retracted position. The “pull-back” force is greatest when the hose is fully extended and least when the hose is fully retracted. The hose operators must exert a continuous force against the counterweight “pull-back” while manipulating the extended hose and therefore becomes a burden to use.
What is needed, therefore, is a system for retaining lengthy hoses which eliminates the need for hose reels or manual counterbalance festoons, but permits the hoses to be retracted to a neat, attractive, and out-of-the-way disposition when the system is not in use, and permits the hoses to be readily deployed and manipulated, without “pull-back” during system usage.